The Coca-Cola Company is one of the world’s most recognized brands. Founded in 1886, the company today is vastly different from its creator's original intent. The original formula was invented by John Stith Pemberton as a health drink, energy boost, and patent medicine following his time in the Civil War. The name is derived from two of the original ingredients coca leaves and kola nuts, although those ingredients are not used today, and was intended to be sold in pharmacies.
Pemberton sold his formula and brand in 1889 to Asa Griggs Candler who then embarked on a nationwide advertising campaign. By 1895 Coca-Cola was being sold in every state in the union and it wouldn’t be long before the beverage was being enjoyed worldwide. By 1889 the company was operating under a franchised distribution system that is still in effect today.
Today, the Coca-Cola Company primarily makes syrups that are shipped to bottler/distributors who command exclusive territories. The Coca-Cola Company retains ownership of the largest US bottler, Coca-Cola Refreshments but there are many others around the world. Coca-Cola Femsa, of which The Coca-Cola Company owns 28%, is located in Mexico and is the world’s largest bottler of Coca-Cola
The Coca-Cola Company is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, and operates as a beverage company worldwide with sales in over 200 countries. The company manufactures, markets, and sells various nonalcoholic beverages and has expanded well beyond soda and pop. After years of expansion and acquisitions, The Coca-Cola Company is represented in verticals from sparkling soft drinks to flavored water, enhanced water, sports beverages, juice, dairy, tea, and coffee. Brands under the Coca-Cola umbrella include Fanta, Fresca, Schweppes, Sprite, Dasani, Gold Peak, Minute Maid, Simply, BODYARMOR, FUZE TEA, and Powerade brands.
The Coca-Cola Company first went public in 1919 and it began paying a dividend in 1920. The company has raised its dividend every year since 1962 making it a Dividend King. To put the company’s growth and scale into perspective, one share of KO purchased at the IPO price of $40 was worth nearly $10 million in 2012 and the stock price has nearly doubled since then. Underwriters of the original IPO received $100,000 worth of shares in compensation for the deal and were able to sell it for $2 billion at that time. The Coca-Cola Company is also a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average holding its position from 1932 to 1935 and from 1987 to the present.
